


Heaven's Hall

by Appliciousness



Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen, Near Future, Science Fiction, Technobabble, Technology, Virtual Reality, Writing Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-19
Updated: 2020-10-19
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:46:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27095260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Appliciousness/pseuds/Appliciousness
Summary: In the near future, an amateur streamer gets an advance copy of a virtual reality game, and its key feature is that it creates unique scenarios for each player. When he starts up the game, these words appear: "Andrew Price, in two weeks you will die. But if you pass the test, you will find eternal life. Are you ready to begin?"
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	Heaven's Hall

_The video begins with a young man in an office chair grinning energetically at the camera._

This is it, gang. The game we’ve been waiting for these last five years has finally arrived.

That’s right, I’m holding in my hands an alpha release copy of Heaven’s Hall. I feel like so much has been said about this game and its features, yet we still have no footage from the actual game. Even if we did, it wouldn’t do the game justice. 

The game uses the new MindMeld feature of Vanguard Premium, which supposedly enables them to map your brainwaves and create a completely unique game scenario for each player. One person will be on the beach playing volleyball, while another will be fighting dragons and another will be engrossed in a dating sim. Sounds impossible right? But Vanguard Virtual has been consistently smashing expectations in the last decade with their advances in VR tech, especially in the field of neuroscience. I wouldn’t bet against them in this race.

Vanguard Virtual has asked all early access players not to post their videos until one day before the release. Review embargoes are common practice for them, disappointing but understandable. To comply with the contract, I’ll catalogue my thoughts for release later.

This means that once I’ve played the game, I cannot talk about it anymore. But I _can_ talk about the download process. So, let’s just enter my private beta code - it won’t work for you - and _holy shit, this game is massive._ 30 terabytes, that’s gonna take like 20 hours! I can’t even _remember_ a download taking longer than 30 minutes. This just speaks volumes about the mountain of content that’s waiting for me on the other end.

Well, looks like I have a decision to make. I could keep blabbing about Vanguard and speculating for hours, which I can and have done in the past. However, I think I’ll let this game speak for itself once it’s ready. I’m going to take a break and play Night Strike 21, hopefully this time I won’t completely suck (as usual).

Radio silence about the game from now on, but you’ll hear all about my full playthrough in two weeks!

Andrew Price, signing out.

* * *

Alright, back. Loading the game up for the first time. This is it, folks, this is it! 

_A car whizzed by, honking its horn loudly. Andrew frowned and pressed a button, deleting the noise from his recording. The screen shifts from his face to the VR simulation around him._

I’m going to narrate what’s going on for those of you in podcast mode. Stream watchers can of course click the “mute” button to hear only my reactions.

I’m entering the game, and the first thing I see is black all around me. Then, colors start bleeding in like slowly dripping water, coalescing into the middle of my field of vision. The rainbow forms a bright, shimmering sentence.

[Welcome to Heaven’s Hall. What is your name?]

Alright, I guess I gotta input my username. My name is Bibi8.

[Your true name.]

Uhh…Andrew. Andrew Price.

The game screen goes almost completely black for several seconds, and then the rainbow light emerges from the shadows to form a new sentence.

[Andrew Price, in two weeks you will die. But if you pass the test, you will find eternal life. Are you ready to begin?]

_Andrew pauses for several seconds, staring at the screen with raised eyebrows._

Huh. With a name like Heaven’s Hall, you’d think I would have expected religion to make an appearance somewhere. But I was _not_ expecting a simulation of the Final Judgement. Not only is it a little weird, it’s not fun to play. Isn’t the game supposed to be scanning my brain for the perfect game for me? I’m a hardcore atheist.

I’m going to give you a pass on this one, VV. Don’t let me down.

As I begin the game, I see colors shoot straight back past me like I’m moving at warp speed. It’s a bit disorienting, so I close my eyes to prevent getting motion sickness. I stop in a black and white room where there is a rack filled with several bright colored sticks that look like lightsabers. I pick up the green one and test it out on a monochrome chair. Unfortunately, it just bounces off and doesn’t slice through, but I do hear a noise.

Then a song starts up (one of my favorites actually, Polagarthy II) but I barely have time to process that before a ball hits my face. Pain radiates across my cheek as I duck to avoid another hit. I’m dodging another ball headed towards my chest, panting and gasping, when I realize this might be a job for my green stick.

My rod connects with a ball, knocking it away as the song’s speed picks up. The relentless pace continues as I struggle not to get pelted by projectiles coming from every direction. It’s exhausting and annoying, but after a few minutes I realize it’s a pattern.

Now _that_ I could work with.

Anyone who’s seen any of my videos knows I’m a sucker for platformers and rhythm games, like retro DDR. Fast or slow doesn’t matter, give me a routine and I can make it work. Not sure what it is about it that I find so appealing, but I think I’ve played every one currently on the market.

So this game _does_ read my brain after all, doesn’t it? (Or at least, it reads my dataset purchase history.)

I don’t know how long I stayed in the game, mastering the pattern until no projectiles hit my body. A little meter at the side let me know my success rate, and another showed my heart rate. After I’d been in the red for my vital signs a little too long, the game went dark again.

I saw a glass of cool water appear, and I poured it over my head. The icy liquid ran down my back and I shivered. VR water wouldn’t replenish my thirst, but it would simulate the feeling of cold, which could _sometimes_ help regulate my body temperature. This hack was enough to put my stats back in the safe zone again.

I wanted to keep going. 

The game wasn’t anything groundbreaking so far, storywise. Of course, the immersion quality was high, to the point I forgot I was in my living room of my Boston apartment. It’s one of the games where you want to place your controllers on a virtual table, and don’t notice it until they hit the very real floor. 

Pain felt real, as did all other physical sensations, but this is standard for top tier games. However, the game is supposed to become more complex as you keep playing, and the fact it had recreated my favorite gameplay in a new way was impressive. I wanted to see what else it could do.

I had enough presence of mind to call my boss and let him know I won’t be coming in today. He’s an asshole, but I’m not gonna give him a reason to write me up. Pretty soon all shopping will be online and Walmart will close for good. I swear to god, that day cannot come fast enough.

* * *

Hey friends, Andrew here.

_The video shows clips of his recent playthrough, cycling through different scenes of a red, dilapidated city as he talks._

I’ve been playing this game two days, and I must say, its simplicity is refreshingly addictive. Well—deceptive simplicity. My last playthrough had me running through a zombie infested town, trying to avoid being seen, taking out enemies until I’d cleared the area. Usually all I had to defend myself was bricks or pieces of pipe, which meant the deaths were up close and personal. It was grueling, but I could see the progress I was making and I _felt_ like I was accomplishing something. There was no stated objective, but that made sense. In real life, did you need ‘kill the murderous zombies’ spelled out for you? No, you just did it.

Anyway, with the number of implants that have been ‘malfunctioning’ these days, maybe these skills will come in handy someday? Or so r/organicbrain would claim, anyway.

Not to mention, it’s rewarding to sense the game learning from me. Adapting to my interests and skills, gradually nudging up the challenge level and keeping the game fresh. I hadn’t yet cleared the entire town, I always died before then, but when I did…well, I knew I would find something interesting. I _wanted_ that to happen, and chances were high the game would respond to that desire.

The game didn’t give me everything I wanted, I realized. I’d wished for a gun many times, and never found one hidden in the locked drawers I cracked open. I suppose in real life the likelihood of me finding a gun would be slim to none, considering how tightly regulated they are. The game seems to be going for reality immersion, which is fine. Hopefully later I’ll get to try a fantasy world where I can jump ten feet high and bang a catgirl.

(I’m kidding, okay. Frog girls for life.)

Anyway, so I’m not the only professional VR gamer enjoying this ride. There’s a whole 120 of us chatting on the VV message boards. That gives me an outlet to vent excitement while I wait until I can share with you guys.

On the private boards, I learned that not all players received a cryptic death threat from the game. Some were immediately taken to a play scenario, while others received different warnings. One guy codenamed Pixel39 said his game told him that in ten days he would “Gain something precious, but only if he was clever and honest,” and another player whose name I’m blanking on said in a month he would “learn to find comfort in loss.”

And how many people were told they were gonna die? Just me. Yep.

_Andrew makes a surprised, scared face into the camera, then breaks into a laugh._

Our gameplay is wildly different too. Mine has been mostly athletic or combat games, while others are solving puzzles, struggling through mazes and dealing with timed challenges. One guy has been playing driving and wrestling games, another is defusing bombs, while puzzle guy is cracking number combinations to unlock safes. So basically, training to be Ocean’s Eleven. _Andrew chuckles to himself._ Oh man, I can see the comments already. You guys—before you argue about my lame taste in movies, do yourself a favor and watch the laser dance.

Anyway, I’ve been having such a great time on these boards, but let’s be honest—you don’t care about those losers. So let’s get back to the game.

* * *

_The video shows Andrew sitting at a table in a small office, his computer behind him. He looks upset, but he still attempts a smile._

Hey gang, I don’t know what happened but all my game footage from yesterday got erased. It sucks because some major stuff happened in the game and I can’t replay it.

So basically, I’m gonna give you a shitty recap using these 3d figures I just printed.

_Andrew pulls out some caricatures of himself and other characters in the game, sets them on a wooden table. Andrew’s character is extremely buff and hacking at a zombie with a sword when an old man, two tiny children and one huge enter the scene._

“Oh noes! Zombies we’re all gonna get eaten ahhhhh!”

_Andrew’s character rushes in and scoops them up into his arms in a pile._

“Don’t worry, good citizens, I’ll save you.”

“Wow, gee thanks Mister, but did you see the horde of hungry zombies? If we leave Fat Joe maybe…”

_Andrew is using a falsetto voice, but it cracks and he stops abruptly. He stares at the figures in his hands, then looks up and pushes the figures away._

Honestly, I’m trying to be lighthearted about this, but it kind of shook me up. Umm…yeah. Like…I dunno, something about that old man. It was like he was…he didn’t have any strength left in him, but he kept fighting. Because those kids needed him, and…those kids. Fat Joe, Mico and Leslie. They were the only good thing left in the entire world and they were dying.

So I jumped in to save them, of course, and I grabbed them and ran. We made it about five minutes running before one of the kids got eaten and I failed the scenario. It reset me back to a minute earlier, so looks like that’s my save point. But I’ll never forget that look on their faces when they realized they were saved, and then again when they realized they weren’t…

_Andrew pauses, staring off into the distance. His watch beeps, and he jumps up._

Shit, I’m late for work.

* * *

This special edition episode brought to you by DrunkAndrew plays games!

_There is a pause as drink sloshes, the colorful dragon on the screen hovering in midair._

As you can see, I’m not streaming Heaven’s Hall, because fuck that game. I’ve been playing for ten days and I’m still stuck watching those kids die again and again. It’s like some sick joke, especially after what happened today.

_The dragon does a barrel roll around an obstacle as Andrew takes a shaking breath._

I’m sure you heard about the data chip robbery in New Jersey. EMP weapons took out half the security guards, the rest were slaughtered along with several hostages. Seventeen people dead. And in the midst of this tragedy some politicians and internet personalities are arguing that this never would have happened if the New England politicians hadn’t tried to tax non-compliant dual citizens from the other four sovereign states. Others are arguing for American Unity and a joint force to crush the terrorists, regardless of each Sovereign State stance on brain data chips.

People are dead and we’re on our viewscreens yelling about fucking politics as if our voices even mattered. As if _anything_ we do matters.

We’re almost in the 22nd century and we’re still dealing with terrorist bombings. They promised us a utopia and we never got it. In 30 years, climate change will make parts of the Northwestern States unlivable, but the world shows no signs of learning from its mistake. So what does it matter if we work to restrict access to weapons or develop a post scarcity economy? It won’t make a difference if mankind is hellbent on destroying itself.

I was at work today on the register, and my asshole boss was yelling over the phone, probably at a poor, defenseless employee. I almost lost it, threw my badge at the back of his stupid, shiny head. What is the point of waking up every day to go to work, putting up with abuse and maltreatment, just to come back to my shitty apartment to play games? I’m a 27 year old man whose only meaningful contact with the outside world is through live streaming. I can’t even remember the last time someone hugged me, how sad is that?

_There was a moment of silence as the dragon used fire to destroy an obstacle, then continued on._

My miserable situation is not going to change anytime soon. I don’t have the income to go out and better myself, nor do I have the social connections to find a job in the field I want. Not to mention my brain is all kinds of fucked up. Routine is the only thing I have right now keeping me sane.

You already know about some of my personal struggles. I’m doing the best I can. But I feel like my life is pointless. I wake up every day wishing I could just end it, skip over the boring middle and get to the conclusion. I know this is destructive thinking but fuck, does it even matter? Death comes for us all in the end, anyway. The intervening work and toil is the real illusion.

_He sighed, the dragon winging around a tree._

Bet I can’t share this video online without getting flagged, huh? Only cheerful, happy thoughts can be shared with poor, impressionable children. Just another example of how nothing is real online, everything is a carefully constructed fantasy. Our lives and attention are wasted on such pointless things and none of it fucking matters.

Andrew Price, signing off this fucking planet.

* * *

_The video shows an exhausted Andrew with sweat coursing down his forehead. He is standing in the middle of a dark red city, several panicked children grabbing his hands._

Hey gang.

Been a bit busy trying to solve this game. It took me several days, but I think I finally discovered what I’m missing. I need an exit—a place the old man and his kids can go to be free of this walled city, and I think I found it.

_He points in a direction to his left._

The tunnel.

But holy shit that place is heavily guarded. Don’t know how I’ll get past it without somebody dying.

Guess I better think.

* * *

_Andrew is sitting in his office chair, a tense expression on his face._

So. I finally beat the game. Bet you’ll ever guess how.

I tried so many different ways to escape the city with them alive. I found an alleyway that led to a hole in the city wall, but every time we tried to enter it the zombies tore us to pieces. Then one time I just said, fuck it, and bum rushed our attackers. The others ran to safety, and I died.

White light surrounded me and I watched them crawl through the hole, collapsing against each other in exhausted relief. The enemy did not follow them out, and they continued running to safety, only once stopping to look back for me.

And then the white light dragged me away and I heard a beautiful chorus of music. My heart was pounding with relief and a sense of hope and longing. I peered closely, desperate to see through the brightness but there was nothing, not even my own body. I felt free, weightless, unburdened. Eventually the light dimmed and I saw words on the screen.

[You have reached Heaven’s Hall. Come and claim your reward.]

With that, the game ended. Reality’s weight came crashing back into me. I turned off the VR vision and I...just...

_Andrew stared at the wall for several long moments, his face looking anguished and furious._

I’m deleting this fucking game.

* * *

So I woke up this morning to see the VV message board had exploded.

_The video shows clips of Andrew scrolling through posts on the Vanguard Virtual message boards._

I skimmed through a few of the many threads that had popped up overnight. Apparently some of the game’s “prophecies” have come true.

Remember Pixel39, the codebreaker puzzle guy? His final code was a list of numbers he memorized, and for the fun of it he used those numbers to play the state lottery. He won. After taxes he’s looking to take home 5 million dollars.

There are about 500 of us browsing the Vanguard Virtual board now, and they’re all speculating about what’s going on, trying to make sense of it. Predictive technology has been theorized. We know that someday artificial intelligence will become advanced enough to see accurate permutations of the future and predict the most likely scenario. But as advanced as VV games are, there’s no evidence our current tech is remotely capable of this. 

Pixel39’s isn’t the only prediction that came true, either. This guy named Thunder444 got into a car crash and barely survived. He had to pry his way out of the car, drag his friend to safety and perform first aid to save his life. He says he practiced those exact skills in his games, and that is the only reason he knew what to do in that situation.

This vocal minority is eclipsed by the majority who think this is all a hoax. Most of the players aren’t seeing their game predictions come true—a solid ¾ of them don’t even _have_ predictions. Plus, this is the internet, where nothing is real, and it’s easy to see why Thunder444 and Pixel39 might have ulterior motives. And if they really _do_ believe the game predicted their futures, a psychological explanation related to pattern matching seems much more reasonable. We like to believe things happen for a reason, even if those reasons are outlandish.

If they _are_ telling the truth, I don’t blame them for wanting to believe.

Of course, I have my own reasons for hoping this is all a hoax. I don’t want to die in two days, after all, no matter what my depression says. There’s probably a strategy for decreasing my chances of dying, making that future less likely by radically changing my actions. But in the end I’d probably fuck myself over and walk right into the very event that kills me. Better to just lead my normal life and try to be careful.

Besides, like…maybe this is just my bias, but I don’t believe in ESP, even the digital kind. Our lives aren’t set in stone, they’re made up of our choices. I may not be able to control a lot of things in my life, but my choices are mine. I’ll make them when I’m ready to and not two weeks before.

Anyway…this raises questions for me. I haven’t played Heaven’s Hall since I beat it a few days ago, and now I’m wondering if there’s anything…after. Not like literally heaven, but _something_ to help me understand what this is all about. Considering how the game works, perhaps even wanting it might make it so.

I’m trying to turn on the game, but nothing is happening. Huh, weird. I never deleted it, so it should still be on my dataset. I’ve been troubleshooting this for five minutes and planning out my VV boards bug post when all of a sudden I realize I haven’t tried playing other games. I try to load Amara Island, and it does not work. Penny Drop, no response.

Crap...I think I know what’s going on. I try raising my hand over my refrigerator door and it does not respond. Great, so my data chip is malfunctioning. There goes two days while I wait in line and fill out forms so they can do a ten minute brain check up.

That means I get to take a trip to the happiest place on earth, the Portland Wellness Services. Yay.

* * *

_Andrew is waiting in line in a room painted entirely white, with walls covered in 3d digital posters. The line he’s in stretches on past the screen, and the room is filled with people._

Hey gang, so if any of you have actually been to Portland Wellness Services, I just want to let you know I feel your pain. That smiling lady on their billboard is a lie, it’s an absolute nightmare to visit. Caterpillar lines of people all squished together as we maneuver around corners and wait for hours. There are service people who bring you crackers and water, that’s how bad it is.

_The sound of the PA system comes on over Andrew’s voice, calling the next customer._

When we got the implants, they promised the chips would work perfectly for at least 30 years. In reality, it’s something more like five. By the time we learned this, our entire country had bought into the data chips, stock and barrel. Southeastern confederacy never got their data chips implanted and I envy them. For all the convenience these chips provide, they are still a massive pain in the ass.

_A scream is heard in the background, and then a giant explosion knocks out Andrew’s video. The next part is entirely audio._

Holy fuck! There’s a guy over there he’s--he’s throwing bombs into the crowd!

_Another explosion goes off, and the sound of Andrew panting and metal scraping._

The android officer who fell next to me dropped his baton, so maybe I can use--shit, they’re coming this way!

_There was the sound of metal pinging against metal as the camera briefly flashes back on again to show Andrew tackling a terrorist. He presses the baton against his head, putting him to sleep. The baton is riddled with bullet holes._

I was able to take down this guy but...there’s too many of them. I’m taking cover now and trying to get a visual on what’s happening.

_Andrew scrambles around a corner, peering out to the main group near the front desks. His voice is a whisper._

Based on what I can see, they aren’t taking hostages this time. They’re just destroying things and killing people. 

_He runs a hand through his hair, watching people pour lighter fluid on everything._

Of course. This is the central hub of the data chip operation, burning it to the ground would be a huge statement. I need to...I need to run.

_The slight squeak of shoes breaks through a visual feed of violent shouting and gunshots as Andrew runs toward an exit. It’s blocked. The emergency lights start blinking red._

Shit. There’s got to be other exits, I just need to find them before the terrorists...shit. I know some of you might recognize the gameplay, if you watched my videos. This is a pattern. _Fuck._

Okay, okay, I’m moving down a corridor and I’m at an intersection. I see a small empty corridor leading to--maybe--an exit. But I can also see a second main hall which is patrolled by armed guards.

Wait a minute...there’s people here.

_Andrew stops in the intersection, his weapon held tightly in one fist. In the middle of the red-lit hallway, a group of children cowers behind a woman getting beaten to death. Andrew stares at the children screaming for help._

This is...surreal. I know what I have to do to save them, because I’ve done it before. So many times.

 _One of the boys sees Andrew, calls out to him._ “Please, save our teacher! Save us...somebody!”

_Andrew’s eyes are round and wide, and he silently mouths the boy’s name. When he finally speaks again, his voice is tight._

Gang, if I don’t see you again...this is Andrew, signing off.

**Author's Note:**

> This was written based on a writing prompt for r/rational. My prompt was three paragraphs long, but I'll summarize here:
> 
> "You have died. You know that you are dead. Death, however, is not the empty void you always thought. And now it's time to figure out where you're going to spend the rest of your existence."
> 
> I played fast and loose with my prompt and created a sci-fi fic about VR gaming. :) Hope you enjoyed the story!
> 
> Thanks to Capri and Vlaai for beta reading!


End file.
